The Lycoming IO-360 is an air-cooled, carbureted, four-cylinder, horizontally opposed piston aircraft engine which produces 160 hp/180 hp, is currently used in the Cessna 172R/172S and the Diamond DA40, although several other aircraft, including most Piper Arrows and some Mooney M20s, use 200 hp variants.
The fuel injection system eliminates the risk of carburetor ice and requires a slightly different starting procedure than the carbureted version. The fuel injected starting procedure requires turning on an electric fuel pump prior to start in order to pressurize the fuel injection system. The mixture contol is left in the idle-cutoff position (pulled all the way out) until the engine fires, which is opposite to the normal carbureted starting procedure.
Variants
All engines will have an additional number following the 360 to indicate the specific configuration, based on the aircraft the engine is used on.
1) O-360 - standard, direct-drive, normally aspirated engine, equipped with a carburetor
2) IO-360 - Fuel injected version
3) TIO-360 - Turbocharged, fuel injected version
4) AEIO-360 - Injected version with an inverted oil system for use in aerobatic aircraft